Current data centers employ thermal management of rack mounted network equipment. The thermal management systems are designed to segregate the hot air of network equipment exhaust from the cool or cold air intake region of the data center, making the cooling system more efficient. This is accomplished by installing intake and exhaust ducts mounted adjacent to rack mounted switches that employ side to side airflow. Previous rack mounted solutions were designed to be mounted behind vertical cable managers installed on each side of the racks. The position of the ducts behind the vertical cable managers effectively blocks any use of pass through features and vertical patch panel mounting provided by the vertical cable managers.
What is required is a solution that allows for intake/exhaust regions to be used in a space between the vertical cable manager and the rack mounted switches. Current 4-post open racks do not provide this space.